MM TAX CLUB

Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) vide Policy Circular No. 42 /2015-2020 Dated 27" July, 2022 issued clarification on various representations from members of Trade & Industry for Non-Ferrous Metal Import Monitoring System (NFMIMS).

Subsequent to the issuance of DGFT Notification No.61/2015-2020 dated 31.03.2021 amending the import policy of items of copper (Annexure-I to DGFT Notification No.61/2015-2020) falling in Chapter-74 of ITC (HS) and items of Aluminum (Annexure-ll to DGFT Notification No.61/2015-2020) falling in Chapter-76 of ITC (HS) from Free’ to ‘Free subject to compulsory registration under Non-Ferrous Metal Import Monitoring System (NFMIMS) DGFT has received various representations from members of Trade & Industry seeking clarification on NFMIMS.

The issues were referred to M/o Mines and based upon the clarification received, responses thereto are given below:

1. Whether imports through air mode are exempted from registration under NFMIMS?

• NFMIMS will not be applicable on air-freighted goods as this mode is used for emergency/small volume high value goods required at short notice.

2. Whether multiple consignments against a NFMIMS registration can be imported within the validity period of NFMIMS Registration?

• Any number of consignments can be imported by a single NFMIMS registration within the validity of

the registration.

3. Whether it is compulsory to provide the proper Quality Control Order (QCO) description in NFMIMS or
4.  

Response: The information relating to proper QCO description can be treated as optional category in the description filed by importer under NFMIMS.

4. Whether the Custom officers at the border are mandated to check QCO description in NFMIMS certificate while clearing the Bill of Entries or not?

• Since the QCO information is optional information therefore, it is not mandatory for the Custom officer to check QCO description under NFMIMS. However, custom officer has to consider the provisions/rules under the other laws of the land at the time of clearing the Bill of Entries.

5. Whether NFMIMS is applicable to shipments under Advance Authorization, DFIA and SEZs?

• NFMIMS is applicable to imports through Advance Authorization, DFIA and import to SEZs.

This issues with the approval of the competent authority.

GST rate has also been reduced from 18% to 5% for MRO services

During 2021-22, Indian airports carried around 83 million domestic passengers registering a growth rate of 59% as compared to 2020-21.  As compared to the pre-pandemic domestic passenger traffic of around 136 million (2019-20), the traffic in 2021-22 has declined by 39%. Details are enclosed in the Annexure. Challenges that affect the profitability of the domestic aviation sector include high cost of aviation fuel, foreign exchange variations, constrained airport infrastructure and highly price-sensitive customers etc.

Some of the steps that the Government has taken overcome the challenges are as follows:

(i) Several States/ UTs that imposed a high rate of VAT on aviation fuel were requested to rationalise the same. 16 States/UTs responded positively including: Andaman and Nicobar Islands; Arunachal Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu; Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir;  Jharkhand, Karnataka, Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

(ii)  Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate has been reduced from 18% to 5% for domestic Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) services.

(iii) A conducive aircraft leasing and financing environment has been enabled.

(iv) Improvement in air navigation infrastructure is being carried out to enable better utilization of airspace and airport capacity.

(v) To reduce congestion at airports and to address the challenge of sub-optimal infrastructure, Airports Authority of India (AAI) has taken up development of new and existing airports with a projected capital expenditure of around Rs. 25,000 crores in next five years. This includes construction of new terminals, expansion and modification of existing terminals, expansion and/ or strengthening of existing runways, aprons, Airport Navigation Services (ANS) infrastructure, control towers and technical blocks etc.

(vi) The Public Private Partnership (PPP) airports at Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru are undertaking major expansion projects of around Rs. 30,000 crores by 2025. Additionally, Rs. 36,000 crores have been planned for investment in the development of new Greenfield airports across the country under PPP mode.

(vii) Government of India (GoI) has accorded 'in-principle' approval for setting up of 21 Greenfield Airports across the country. So far, eight Greenfield airports namely, Sindhudurg and Shirdi in Maharashtra, Durgapur in West Bengal, Pakyong in Sikkim, Kannur in Kerala, Orvakal in Andhra Pradesh, Kalaburagi in Karnataka and Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh have been operationalised.

This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation Gen. (Dr) V. K. Singh (Retd) in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

Approximately Rs.78 lakh penalty charged from e-commerce companies as compounding fees for violation of declaration

The Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today informed that the Legal metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules 2011 under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 provides that an E-Commerce entity shall ensure that name and address of the manufacturer or packer or importer, maximum Retail Price (MRP), Country of Origin, Common or Generic name of the commodity, Net Quantity, Month and Year of manufacture, Customer Care details etc shall be displayed on the digital and electronic network used for e-commerce transactions.  This is to ensure that the consumer is taking an informed and conscious decision based on the declaration of the product on the E-Commerce platform.

For violations of declaration by e-commerce companies, 38 notices during the period of 16th October, 2020 to 31st December, 2020, 232 notices during the period 1st January 2021 to 31st December, 2021 and 178 notices during the period 1st January, 2022 to 11th July, 2022 have been issued by the Legal Metrology Division, Department of Consumer Affairs and an amount of approximately Rs.  77, 90,500/- in the form of compounding fees has been realized from e-commerce companies. State Governments are also empowered to take actions in cases of violation of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities), Rules 2011.

Order dated 20th July, 2022

In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (J) of sub-paragraph (1) of paragraph 2 of the e-Verification Scheme, 2021, the Central Board of Direct Taxes, hereby authorises the Director General of Income-tax, Directors of Income-tax, Additional Directors of Income-tax, Joint Directors of Income-tax, Deputy Directors of Income-tax, Assistant Directors of Income-tax, Income Tax Officers and Inspectors of Income-tax working in the Directorate of Income-tax (Intelligence and Criminal Investigation) as "Prescribed Authority" for the purposes of the said Scheme.